Humanized monoclonal advanced glycation end-product antibody

ABSTRACT

A humanized monoclonal antibody that binds to an advanced glycation end-product-modified protein or peptide on a cell comprises a heavy chain and a light chain. The antibody binds a carboxymethyllysine-modified protein or peptide. A composition comprises a humanized monoclonal antibody that binds to an advanced glycation end-product-modified protein or peptide on a cell and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.

BACKGROUND

Advanced glycation end-products (AGEs; also referred to as AGE-modified proteins, or glycation end-products) arise from a non-enzymatic reaction of sugars with protein side-chains (Ando, K. et al., Membrane Proteins of Human Erythrocytes Are Modified by Advanced Glycation End Products during Aging in the Circulation, Biochem Biophys Res Commun., Vol. 258, 123, 125 (1999)). This process begins with a reversible reaction between a reducing sugar and an amino group to form a Schiff base, which proceeds to form a covalently-bonded Amadori rearrangement product. Once formed, the Amadori product undergoes further rearrangement to produce AGEs.

Antibodies that bind to an AGE-modified protein on a cell are known in the art. Examples include those described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,702,704 to Bucala and U.S. Pat. No. 6,380,165 to Al-Abed et al. Non-human anti-AGE antibodies are also commercially available. For example, R&D Systems, Inc. (Minneapolis, Minn.) sells a murine anti-AGE antibody raised against carboxymethyl lysine conjugated with keyhole limpet hemocyanin. Commercially-available antibodies are designed for laboratory or diagnostic purposes and may contain material that is not suited for in vivo use in animals or humans. These antibodies are not therapeutic antibodies and are not intended for administration to a human subject.

AGEs and AGE-modified cells have been associated with several pathological conditions including diabetic complications, inflammation, retinopathy, nephropathy, stroke, endothelial cell dysfunction, and neurodegenerative disorders (Bierhaus A, “AGEs and their interaction with AGE-receptors in vascular disease and diabetes mellitus. I. The AGE concept,” Cardiovasc Res, Vol. 37(3), 586-600 (1998)). The association between AGEs and various pathological conditions, diseases and disorders has led to the identification of AGEs as a therapeutic target. Therapies for targeting and removing AGE-modified cells include the application of ultrasound and the administration of antibodies, including humanized antibodies, that bind to AGEs (see, for example, WO 2009/143411, US 2013/0243785 and US 2016/0215043). Antibody-based immunotherapies are particularly desirable because of their ability to specifically target and kill cells that express the antigen to which the antibody binds while sparing cells that do not express the antigen.

Antibodies are Y-shaped proteins composed of two heavy chains and two light chains. The two arms of the Y shape form the fragment antigen-binding (Fab) region while the base or tail of the Y shape forms the fragment crystallizable (Fc) region of the antibody. Antigen binding occurs at the terminal portion of the fragment antigen-binding region (the tips of the arms of the Y shape) at a location referred to as the paratope, which is a set of complementarity determining regions (also known as CDRs or the hypervariable region). The complementarity determining regions vary among different antibodies and gives a given antibody its specificity for binding to a given antigen. The fragment crystallizable region of the antibody determines the result of antigen binding and may interact with the immune system, such as by triggering the complement cascade or initiating antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC).

Therapeutic monoclonal antibodies were initially produced in mice using the hybridoma technique. A significant problem with administering murine and other unmodified non-human antibodies to human subjects is the risk of the human immune system attacking the non-human antibodies. Many human patients that receive murine antibodies develop an allergic reaction termed the human anti-mouse antibody response (HAMA response). The HAMA response could be mild, such as a rash, or life-threatening, such as renal failure. In addition, the human immune system will often neutralize the murine antibodies, reducing their half-life and impairing their ability to target the intended antigen.

Non-human antibodies may be made less immunogenic to humans by engineering the antibodies to contain a combination of non-human and human antibody components. The non-human antibody is chosen for its specificity for a desired target antigen. A chimeric antibody may be produced by combining the variable region of a non-human antibody with a human constant region. Chimeric antibodies are approximately 70% human and are less immunogenic than unmodified non-human antibodies. A humanized antibody may be produced by replacing the complementarity determining regions (CDRs) of a human antibody with those of a non-human antibody. Humanized antibodies are approximately 95% human and are less immunogenic than chimeric antibodies due to the inclusion of a greater amount of human antibody components. Humanization is a well-known scientific technique (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,693,762) and has progressed to the point that custom antibody humanization services are commercially available.

SUMMARY

In a first aspect, the invention is a humanized monoclonal advanced glycation end-product antibody comprising a heavy chain and a light chain. The heavy chain comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 90% sequence identity, preferably at least 95% sequence identity, more preferably at least 98% sequence identity, with at least one amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 2, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 4 and SEQ ID NO: 5. The light chain comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 90% sequence identity, preferably at least 95% sequence identity, more preferably at least 98% sequence identity, with at least one amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 12, SEQ ID NO: 13, SEQ ID NO: 14 and SEQ ID NO: 15. The antibody binds a carboxymethyllysine-modified protein or peptide.

In a second aspect, the invention is a humanized monoclonal advanced glycation end-product antibody comprising a heavy chain, having a heavy chain variable region, and a light chain, having a light chain variable region. The heavy chain variable region comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 90% sequence identity, preferably at least 95% sequence identity, more preferably at least 98% sequence identity, with at least one amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 7, SEQ ID NO: 8, SEQ ID NO: 9 and SEQ ID NO: 10. The light chain variable region comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 90% sequence identity, preferably at least 95% sequence identity, more preferably at least 98% sequence identity, with at least one amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 17, SEQ ID NO: 18, SEQ ID NO: 19 and SEQ ID NO: 20. The antibody binds a carboxymethyllysine-modified protein or peptide.

In a third aspect, the invention is a humanized monoclonal advanced glycation end-product antibody comprising a heavy chain and a light chain. The heavy chain comprises an amino acid sequence having at least one amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 2, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 4 and SEQ ID NO: 5. The light chain comprises an amino acid sequence having at least one amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 12, SEQ ID NO: 13, SEQ ID NO: 14 and SEQ ID NO: 15. The antibody binds a carboxymethyllysine-modified protein or peptide.

In a fourth aspect, the invention is a humanized monoclonal advanced glycation end-product antibody comprising a heavy chain, having a heavy chain variable region, and a light chain, having a light chain variable region. The heavy chain variable region comprises an amino acid sequence having at least one amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 7, SEQ ID NO: 8, SEQ ID NO: 9 and SEQ ID NO: 10. The light chain variable region comprises an amino acid sequence having at least one amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 17, SEQ ID NO: 18, SEQ ID NO: 19 and SEQ ID NO: 20. The antibody binds a carboxymethyllysine-modified protein or peptide.

In a fifth aspect, the invention is a composition comprising humanized monoclonal advanced glycation end-product antibody and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.

In a sixth aspect, the invention is a method of treating a human subject who has been diagnosed with a pathological condition, disease or disorder associated with AGEs or AGE-modified cells comprising administering to the subject a composition comprising a humanized monoclonal advanced glycation end-product antibody. The antibody comprises a heavy chain comprising an amino acid sequence having at least 90% sequence identity, preferably at least 95% sequence identity, more preferably at least 98% sequence identity, with at least one amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 2, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 4 and SEQ ID NO: 5. The antibody comprises a light chain comprising an amino acid sequence having at least 90% sequence identity, preferably at least 95% sequence identity, more preferably at least 98% sequence identity, with at least one amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 12, SEQ ID NO: 13, SEQ ID NO: 14 and SEQ ID NO: 15.

DEFINITIONS

The term “peptide” means a molecule composed of 2-50 amino acids.

The term “protein” means a molecule composed of more than 50 amino acids.

The terms “advanced glycation end-product,” “AGE,” “AGE-modified protein or peptide,” “glycation end-product” and “AGE antigen” refer to modified proteins or peptides that are formed as the result of the reaction of sugars with protein side chains that further rearrange and form irreversible cross-links. This process begins with a reversible reaction between a reducing sugar and an amino group to form a Schiff base, which proceeds to form a covalently-bonded Amadori rearrangement product. Once formed, the Amadori product undergoes further rearrangement to produce AGEs. AGE-modified proteins and antibodies to AGE-modified proteins are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,702,704 to Bucala and U.S. Pat. No. 6,380,165 to Al-Abed et al. Glycated proteins or peptides that have not undergone the necessary rearrangement to form AGEs, such as N-deoxyfructosyllysine found on glycated albumin, are not AGEs. AGEs may be identified by the presence of AGE modifications (also referred to as AGE epitopes or AGE moieties) such as 2-(2-furoyl)-4(5)-(2-furanyl)-1H-imidazole (“FFI”); 5-hydroxymethyl-1-alkylpyrrole-2-carbaldehyde (“Pyrraline”); 1-alkyl-2-formyl-3,4-diglycosyl pyrrole (“AFGP”), a non-fluorescent model AGE; carboxymethyllysine; carboxyethyllysine; and pentosidine. ALI, another AGE, is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,380,165.

The terms “advanced glycation end-product antibody”, “antibody that binds to an AGE-modified protein on a cell”, “anti-AGE antibody” or “AGE antibody” mean an antibody that binds to an AGE-modified protein or peptide, where the protein or peptide which has been AGE-modified is a protein or peptide normally found bound on the surface of a cell. An “advanced glycation end-product antibody”, “antibody that binds to an AGE-modified protein on a cell”, “anti-AGE antibody” or “AGE antibody” does not include an antibody or other protein which binds with the same specificity and selectivity to both the AGE-modified protein or peptide, and the same non-AGE-modified protein or peptide (that is, the presence of the AGE modification does not increase binding). AGE-modified albumin is not an AGE-modified protein on a cell, because albumin is not a protein normally found bound on the surface of cells. An “advanced glycation end-product antibody”, “antibody that binds to an AGE-modified protein on a cell”, “anti-AGE antibody” or “AGE antibody” only includes those antibodies which lead to removal, destruction, or death of the cell. Also included are antibodies which are conjugated, for example to a toxin, drug, or other chemical or particle.

The term “humanized antibody” means a genetically engineered antibody in which the complementarity determining regions (CDRs) of a human antibody have been replaced with those of a non-human antibody, and where the antibody variable region amino acid sequence is closer to human than to other species.

The term “variant” means a nucleotide, protein or amino acid sequence different from the specifically identified sequences, wherein one or more nucleotides, proteins or amino acid residues is deleted, substituted or added. Variants may be naturally-occurring allelic variants, or non-naturally-occurring variants. Variants of the identified sequences may retain some or all of the functional characteristics of the identified sequences.

The term “percent (%) sequence identity” is defined as the percentage of amino acid residues in a candidate sequence that are identical to the amino acid residues in a reference polypeptide sequence, after aligning the sequences and introducing gaps, if necessary, to achieve the maximum percent sequence identity, and not considering any conservative substitutions as part of the sequence identity. Alignment for purposes of determining percent amino acid sequence identity can be achieved in various ways using publicly available computer software such as BLAST, BLAST-2, ALIGN or Megalign (DNASTAR) software. Preferably, % sequence identity values are generated using the sequence comparison computer program ALIGN-2. The ALIGN-2 sequence comparison computer program is publicly available from Genentech, Inc. (South San Francisco, Calif.), or may be compiled from the source code, which has been filed with user documentation in the U.S. Copyright Office and is registered under U.S. Copyright Registration No. TXU510087. The ALIGN-2 program should be compiled for use on a UNIX operating system, including digital UNIX V4.0D. All sequence comparison parameters are set by the ALIGN-2 program and do not vary.

In situations where ALIGN-2 is employed for amino acid sequence comparisons, the % sequence identity of a given amino acid sequence A to, with, or against a given amino acid sequence B (which can alternatively be phrased as a given amino acid sequence A that has or comprises a certain % amino acid sequence identity to, with, or against a given amino acid sequence B) is calculated as follows: 100 times the fraction X/Y where X is the number of amino acid residues scored as identical matches by the sequence alignment program ALIGN-2 in that program's alignment of A and B, and where Y is the total number of amino acid residues in B. Where the length of amino acid sequence A is not equal to the length of amino acid sequence B, the % amino acid sequence identity of A to B will not equal the % amino acid sequence identity of B to A. Unless specifically stated otherwise, all % amino acid sequence identity values used herein are obtained using the ALIGN-2 computer program.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 illustrates the antibody binding of a commercially-available murine anti-AGE antibody.

FIG. 2 illustrates a chromatogram of a transfected murine monoclonal anti-AGE antibody.

FIG. 3 illustrates a gel electropherogram of a transfected murine monoclonal anti-AGE antibody.

FIG. 4 illustrates the binding of a transfected murine monoclonal anti-AGE antibody to CML-OVA in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention is a novel humanized monoclonal antibody that binds to an AGE-modified protein or peptide on a cell. Specifically, the anti-AGE antibody binds to a carboxymethyllysine-modified protein or peptide on a cell. The antibody is suitable for in vivo administration to a human subject and preferably is substantially non-immunogenic to humans. The antibody may optionally be conjugated to a toxin or other agent for inducing cell death. The antibody may also be included in a composition with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. The antibody is believed to have superior antigen binding properties as compared to comparable commercially-available non-human anti-AGE antibodies.

The humanized monoclonal advanced glycation end-product antibody includes a heavy chain having a protein sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 2, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 4 and SEQ ID NO: 5 and a light chain having a protein sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 12, SEQ ID NO: 13, SEQ ID NO: 14 and SEQ ID NO: 15. The variable domains of the humanized heavy chains may have a protein sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 7, SEQ ID NO: 8, SEQ ID NO: 9 and SEQ ID NO: 10. The variable domains of the humanized light chains may have a protein sequence selected from the group consisting SEQ ID NO: 17, SEQ ID NO: 18, SEQ ID NO: 19 and SEQ ID NO: 20.

The anti-AGE antibody binds to proteins or peptides having a carboxymethyllysine AGE modification. Carboxymethyllysine (also known as N(epsilon)-(carboxymethyl)lysine, N(6)-carboxymethyllysine, 2-Amino-6-(carboxymethylamino)hexanoic acid and CML) is found on proteins or peptides and lipids as a result of oxidative stress and chemical glycation. Carboxymethyllysine-modified proteins or peptides are recognized by the receptor RAGE which is expressed on a variety of cells. Carboxymethyllysine has been well-studied and carboxymethyllysine-related products are commercially available. For example, Cell Biolabs, Inc. sells CML-BSA antigens, CML polyclonal antibodies, CML immunoblot kits, and CML competitive ELISA kits (www.cellbiolabs.com/cml-assays). CML-ovalbumin (CML-OVA) is a preferred control for verifying antibody binding.

The anti-AGE antibody has a low rate of dissociation from the antibody-antigen complex, or k_(d) (also referred to as k_(back) or off-rate), preferably at most 6×10⁻³, 5×10⁻³, 1×10⁻³, 8×10⁴, 5×10⁴, 1×10⁴, 8×10⁻⁵, 5×10⁻⁵ or 1×10⁻⁵ (sec⁻¹). Preferably, the binding properties of the anti-AGE antibody are superior to the murine carboxymethyl lysine monoclonal antibody (Clone 318003) available from R&D Systems, Inc. (Minneapolis, Minn.; catalog no. MAB3247), illustrated in FIG. 1 .

The binding of the humanized antibodies may be evaluated, for example, by dose-dependent binding ELISA or cell-based binding assay. Preferably, the binding of the humanized anti-AGE antibodies is equivalent or superior to the binding of non-human anti-AGE antibodies.

The anti-AGE antibody may destroy AGE-modified cells through antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC). ADCC is a mechanism of cell-mediated immune defense in which an effector cell of the immune system actively lyses a target cell whose membrane-surface antigens have been bound by specific antibodies. ADCC may be mediated by natural killer (NK) cells, macrophages, neutrophils or eosinophils. The effector cells bind to the Fc portion of the bound antibody. Administration of NK cells, such as NK92 cells (a cell line available from NantKwest, Culver City, Calif.), together with, or subsequent to, administration of anti-AGE antibodies, can enhance the compliment activity and therefore the effectiveness of the anti-AGE antibodies to kill cells. The anti-AGE antibody may also destroy AGE-modified cells through complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC). In CDC, the complement cascade of the immune system is triggered by an antibody binding to a target antigen.

The anti-AGE antibody may optionally be conjugated to an agent that causes the destruction of AGE-modified cells. Examples of such agents include toxins, cytotoxic agents, magnetic nanoparticles and magnetic spin-vortex discs.

A toxin, such as a pore-forming toxin (PFT) (Aroian R. et al., “Pore-Forming Toxins and Cellular Non-Immune Defenses (CNIDs),” Current Opinion in Microbiology, 10:57-61 (2007)), conjugated to an anti-AGE antibody may be injected into a patient to selectively target and remove AGE-modified cells. The anti-AGE antibody recognizes and binds to AGE-modified cells. Then, the toxin causes pore formation at the cell surface and subsequent cell removal through osmotic lysis.

Magnetic nanoparticles conjugated to the anti-AGE antibody may be injected into a patient to target and remove AGE-modified cells. The magnetic nanoparticles can be heated by applying a magnetic field in order to selectively remove the AGE-modified cells.

As an alternative, magnetic spin-vortex discs, which are magnetized only when a magnetic field is applied to avoid self-aggregation that can block blood vessels, begin to spin when a magnetic field is applied, causing membrane disruption of target cells. Magnetic spin-vortex discs, conjugated to anti-AGE antibodies specifically target AGE-modified cell types, without removing other cells.

A humanized monoclonal anti-AGE antibody or a variant thereof may include a heavy chain having at least 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100% sequence identity to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 4 or SEQ ID NO: 5, including post-translational modifications thereof. A heavy chain having at least 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, or 99% sequence identity may contain substitutions (e.g., conservative substitutions), insertions, or deletions relative to the reference sequence, but an anti-AGE antibody including that sequence retains the ability to bind to AGE. The substitutions, insertions, or deletions may occur in any portion of the sequence.

A humanized monoclonal anti-AGE antibody or a variant thereof may include a heavy chain variable region having at least 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100% sequence identity to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, SEQ ID NO: 8, SEQ ID NO: 9 or SEQ ID NO: 10, including post-translational modifications thereof. A variable region having at least 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, or 99% sequence identity may contain substitutions (e.g., conservative substitutions), insertions, or deletions relative to the reference sequence, but an anti-AGE antibody including that sequence retains the ability to bind to AGE. The substitutions, insertions, or deletions may occur in any portion of the sequence.

A humanized monoclonal anti-AGE antibody or a variant thereof may include a light chain having at least 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100% sequence identity to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12, SEQ ID NO: 13, SEQ ID NO: 14 or SEQ ID NO: 15, including post-translational modifications thereof. A light chain having at least 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, or 99% sequence identity may contain substitutions (e.g., conservative substitutions), insertions, or deletions relative to the reference sequence, but an anti-AGE antibody including that sequence retains the ability to bind to AGE. The substitutions, insertions, or deletions may occur in any portion of the sequence.

A humanized monoclonal anti-AGE antibody or a variant thereof may include a light chain variable region having at least 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100% sequence identity to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 17, SEQ ID NO: 18, SEQ ID NO: 19 or SEQ ID NO: 20, including post-translational modifications thereof. A variable region having at least 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, or 99% sequence identity may contain substitutions (e.g., conservative substitutions), insertions, or deletions relative to the reference sequence, but an anti-AGE antibody including that sequence retains the ability to bind to AGE. The substitutions, insertions, or deletions may occur in any portion of the sequence.

Antibody fragments may be used in place of whole antibodies. Preferably, the fragments are derived from an antibody composed a heavy chain having a protein sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 2, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 4 and SEQ ID NO: 5 and a light chain having a protein sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 12, SEQ ID NO: 13, SEQ ID NO: 14 and SEQ ID NO: 15. Antibodies may be broken down into smaller fragments by digestion with enzymes. Papain digestion cleaves the N-terminal side of inter-heavy chain disulfide bridges to produce Fab fragments. Fab fragments include the light chain and one of the two N-terminal domains of the heavy chain (also known as the Fd fragment). Pepsin digestion cleaves the C-terminal side of the inter-heavy chain disulfide bridges to produce F(ab′)₂ fragments. F(ab′)₂ fragments include both light chains and the two N-terminal domains linked by disulfide bridges. Pepsin digestion may also form the Fv (fragment variable) and Fc (fragment crystallizable) fragments. The Fv fragment contains the two N-terminal variable domains. The Fc fragment contains the domains which interact with immunoglobulin receptors on cells and with the initial elements of the complement cascade. Pepsin may also cleave immunoglobulin G before the third constant domain of the heavy chain (C_(H)3) to produce a large fragment F(abc) and a small fragment pFc′. Antibody fragments may alternatively be produced recombinantly.

Humanized antibody sequences may be compared to known antibody sequences to predict their efficacy. For example, humanized antibody sequences may be analyzed by eye and/or computer modeling to identify sequences that will most likely retain antigen binding. Humanized antibody sequences may also be screened for the presence of sequences that are known to increase in the possibility of an immunogenic response. For example, presentation of peptide sequences in the groove of MHC Class II molecules leads to activation of CD8⁺ T-cells and an immunogenic response. In order to reduce this response, antibodies may be designed to avoid the incorporation of “T-cell epitopes” that can activate T-cells by reducing the affinity of binding to the MHC Class II molecules. Residues within the human frameworks or the CDRs may be mutated to the human germline equivalent (a process known as germlining) to remove potential MHC-II epitopes.

The anti-AGE antibody may be obtained by humanizing a murine monoclonal anti-AGE antibody. A murine monoclonal anti-AGE antibody has the heavy chain protein sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 1 (the protein sequence of the variable domain is shown in SEQ ID NO: 6) and the light chain protein sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 11 (the protein sequence of the variable domain is shown in SEQ ID NO: 16). The antibody may be made recombinantly in Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells. The humanized monoclonal antibodies may be purified after synthesis. For example, the antibodies may be purified using MabSelect SuRe Protein A medium (GE Healthcare).

The humanized monoclonal anti-AGE antibodies may be included in a composition with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. A “pharmaceutically acceptable carrier” includes any and all solvents, dispersion media, coatings, antibacterial and antifungal agents, isotonic and absorption delaying agents, and the like, compatible with pharmaceutical administration. Preferred examples of such carriers or diluents include water, saline, Ringer's solutions and dextrose solution. Supplementary active compounds can also be incorporated into the compositions. Solutions and suspensions used for parenteral administration can include a sterile diluent, such as water for injection, saline solution, polyethylene glycols, glycerin, propylene glycol or other synthetic solvents; antibacterial agents such as benzyl alcohol or methyl parabens; antioxidants such as ascorbic acid or sodium bisulfite; buffers such as acetates, citrates or phosphates, and agents for the adjustment of tonicity such as sodium chloride or dextrose. The pH can be adjusted with acids or bases, such as hydrochloric acid or sodium hydroxide. The parenteral preparation can be enclosed in ampoules, disposable syringes or multiple dose vials made of glass or plastic.

Pharmaceutical compositions suitable for injection include sterile aqueous solutions or dispersions for the extemporaneous preparation of sterile injectable solutions or dispersion. Various excipients may be included in pharmaceutical compositions of antibodies suitable for injection. For intravenous administration, suitable carriers include physiological saline, bacteriostatic water, CREMOPHOR EL® (BASF; Parsippany, N.J.) or phosphate buffered saline (PBS). In all cases, the composition must be sterile and should be fluid so as to be administered using a syringe. Such compositions should be stable during manufacture and storage and must be preserved against contamination from microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi. Various antibacterial and anti-fungal agents, for example, parabens, chlorobutanol, phenol, ascorbic acid, and thimerosal, can contain microorganism contamination. Isotonic agents such as sugars, polyalcohols, such as mannitol, sorbitol, and sodium chloride can be included in the composition. Compositions that can delay absorption include agents such as aluminum monostearate and gelatin. Sterile injectable solutions can be prepared by incorporating antibodies, and optionally other therapeutic components, in the required amount in an appropriate solvent with one or a combination of ingredients as required, followed by sterilization. Methods of preparation of sterile solids for the preparation of sterile injectable solutions include vacuum drying and freeze-drying to yield a solid.

For administration by inhalation, the antibodies may be delivered as an aerosol spray from a nebulizer or a pressurized container that contains a suitable propellant, for example, a gas such as carbon dioxide. Antibodies may also be delivered via inhalation as a dry powder, for example using the iSPERSE™ inhaled drug delivery platform (PULMATRIX, Lexington, Mass.).

An appropriate dosage level of each type of antibody will generally be about 0.01 to 500 mg per kg of patient body weight. Preferably, the dosage level will be about 0.1 to about 250 mg/kg; more preferably about 0.5 to about 100 mg/kg. A suitable dosage level may be about 0.01 to 250 mg/kg, about 0.05 to 100 mg/kg, or about 0.1 to 50 mg/kg. Within this range the dosage may be 0.05 to 0.5, 0.5 to 5 or 5 to 50 mg/kg. Antibodies may be administered on a regimen of 1 to 4 times per day, such as once or twice per day. Antibodies typically have a long half-life in vivo, which may reduce the administration regimen to once a day, once a week, once every two or three weeks, once a month, or once every 60 to 90 days.

A subject that receives administration of an anti-AGE antibody may be tested to determine if the antibody has effectively removed AGE-modified cells. The presence of AGE-modified cells may be determined by measuring markers that are associated with AGE modification, such as p16^(INK4a). Administration of antibody and subsequent testing may be repeated until the desired therapeutic result is achieved.

Unit dosage forms may be created to facilitate administration and dosage uniformity. Unit dosage form refers to physically discrete units suited as single dosages for the subject to be treated, containing a therapeutically effective quantity of one or more types of antibodies in association with the required pharmaceutical carrier. Preferably, the unit dosage form is in a sealed container and is sterile.

Any human subject who has been diagnosed with a pathological condition, disease or disorder associated with AGEs or AGE-modified cells may be treated by the methods herein described. Examples of pathological conditions, diseases or disorders that may be treated with the humanized monoclonal anti-AGE antibodies include Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Huntington's chorea, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, muscular dystrophy (including Becker's, Duchenne, Limb-Girdle and Yamamoto's muscular dystrophy), macular degeneration, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, Parkinson's disease, progeria (including Werner Syndrome and Hutchinson Gilford progeria), vitiligo, cystic fibrosis, atopic dermatitis, eczema, arthritis (including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis), atherosclerosis, cancer and metastatic cancer (including, for example, breast cancer, triple negative breast cancer, lung cancer, melanoma, colon cancer, renal cell carcinoma, prostate cancer, cancer of the cervix, bladder cancer, rectal cancer, esophageal cancer, liver cancer, mouth and throat cancer, multiple myeloma, ovarian cancer, stomach cancer, pancreatic cancer and retinal blastoma cancers), cancer therapy-related disability or cancer therapy side effects, hypertension, glaucoma, osteoporosis, sarcopenia, cachexia, stroke, myocardial infarction, atrial fibrillation, transplantation rejection, diabetes mellitus—Type I, diabetes mellitus—Type II, radiation exposure, HIV treatment side effects, chemical weapons exposure, poisoning, inflammation, nephropathy, Lewy body dementia, prion disease (including bovine spongiform encephalopathy, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, scrapie, chronic wasting disease, kuru and fatal familial insomnia), lordokyphosis, auto-immune disorders, loss of adipose tissue, psoriasis, Crohn's disease, asthma, the physiological effects of aging (including “cosmetic” effects, such as wrinkling, age spots, hair loss, reduction in subcutaneous adipose tissue and thinning of the skin), idiopathic myopathy (including, for example, idiopathic inflammatory myopathy, idiopathic inflammatory myositis, polymyositis, dermatomyositis, sporadic inclusion body myositis and juvenile myositis), multiple sclerosis, neuromyelitis optica (NMO, Devic's disease or Devic's syndrome), epilepsy and adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD, X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy, X-ALD, cerebral ALD or cALD).

A particularly preferred treatment group includes subjects who have been diagnosed with a pathological condition, disease or disorder associated with AGEs or AGE-modified cells but who are unable to receive conventional treatments. For example, metastatic cancer has been recognized as a condition associated with AGE-modified cells. A patient with metastatic cancer may not be able to undergo cancer treatments such as surgery, radiation therapy or chemotherapy due to other diagnoses, physical conditions or complications. For example, pregnant women cannot receive radiation therapy due to a risk of harm to the fetus. Aged or weakened patients, such as those experiencing cancer cachexia, may not be good candidates for surgery due to a risk of not surviving an invasive procedure. Patients who already have a compromised immune system or a chronic infection may not be able to receive chemotherapy since many chemotherapy drugs harm the immune system.

The anti-AGE antibodies may be used in cell separation processes, such as magnetic cell separation. In magnetic cell separation, the anti-AGE antibodies are attached to magnetic beads through a process called coating. The coated magnetic beads may then specifically bind to AGE-modified cells. The AGE-modified cells that have bound to anti-AGE antibodies coated on magnetic beads will then respond to an applied magnetic field, allowing the AGE-modified cells to be separated from non-AGE-modified cells. Magnetic cell separation may be used to isolate AGE-modified cells from tissue samples and fluid samples. The magnetic beads may be microbeads (0.5-500 μm) or nanoparticles (5-500 nm). Anti-AGE antibodies coated on magnetic beads may also be used in isolation processes such as immunoassays and immunoprecipitation. Similarly, anti-AGE antibodies coated on magnetic beads may be used to specifically target and separate AGE-modified proteins or peptides from tissue samples and fluid samples.

The anti-AGE antibodies may be used in cellular purification processes, such as immunopanning and immunoadsorption. Purification processes are useful in isolating desirable or unwanted cells from tissue cultures, cell cultures or blood. Cellular purification may be used in transplantations, such as a bone marrow transplant, or transfusions, such as a blood transfusion. Cellular purification is especially useful in autologous stem cell transplantation during chemotherapy to remove metastasizing malignant cells and concentrate beneficial stem cells. Immunopanning or immunoadsorption using an anti-AGE antibody may isolate AGE-modified cells from a tissue culture, cell culture or blood sample.

The one-letter amino acid sequence that corresponds to SEQ ID NO: 1 is MGWTLVFLFLLSVTAGVHSQVQLLQPGAELVKPGASVKLACKASGYLFTTYWMHWLK QRPGQGLEWIGEISPTNGRAYYNARFKSEATLTVDKSSNTAYMQLSSLTSEASAVYYC ARSFGNYEFAYWGQGTLVTVSVASTKGPSVFPLAPSSKSTSGGTAALGCLVKDYFPE PVWSWNSGALTSGVHTFPAVLQSSGLYSLSSVVTVPSSSLGTQTYICNVNHKPSNTK VDKKVEPKSCDKTHTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSH EDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYNSTYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVS NKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVEWES NGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQK SLSLSPGK. The one-letter amino acid sequence that corresponds to SEQ ID NO: 2 is MGWTLVFLFLLSVTAGVHSEVQLLESGAEAKKPGASVKLSCKASGYLFTTYWMHWVH QAPGQRLEWMGEISPTNGRAYYNARFKSRVTITVDKSASTAYMELSSLRSEDTAVYYC ARSFGNYEFAYWGQGTLVTVSSASTKGPSVFPLAPSSKSTSGGTAALGCLVKDYFPE PVTVSWNSGALTSGVHTFPAVLQSSGLYSLSSVVTVPSSSLGTQTYICNVNHKPSNTK VDKKVEPKSCDKTHTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSH EDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYNSTYRWSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVS NKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVEWES NGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQK SLSLSPGK. The one-letter amino acid sequence that corresponds to SEQ ID NO: 3 is MGWTLVFLFLLSVTAGVHSQVQLVQSGAEVKKPGASVKVSCKASGYLFTTYWMHWV RQAPGQRLEWIGEISPTNGRAYYNARFKSRVTITRDTSASTAYMELSSLRSEDTAVYY CARSFGNYEFAYWGQGTLVTVSSASTKGPSVFPLAPSSKSTSGGTAALGCLVKDYFP EPVTVSWNSGALTSGVHTFPAVLQSSGLYSLSSVVTVPSSSLGTQTYICNVNHKPSNT KVDKKVEPKSCDKTHTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVS HEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYNSTYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKV SNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVEWE SNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQ KSLSLSPGK. The one-letter amino acid sequence that corresponds to SEQ ID NO: 4 is MGWTLVFLFLLSVTAGVHSQVQLVQSGAEVKKPGSSVKVSCKASGYLFTTYWMHWV RQAPGQGLEWMGEISPTNGRAYYNARFKSRVTITADKSTSTAYMELSSLRSEDTAVYY CARSFGNYEFAYWGQGTLVTVSSASTKGPSVFPLAPSSKSTSGGTAALGCLVKDYFP EPVTVSWNSGALTSGVHTFPAVLQSSGLYSLSSVVTVPSSSLGTQTYICNVNHKPSNT KVDKKVEPKSCDKTHTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVS HEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYNSTYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKV SNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVEWE SNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQ KSLSLSPGK. The one-letter amino acid sequence that corresponds to SEQ ID NO: 5 is MGWTLVFLFLLSVTAGVHSQVQLVQSGAEVKKPGASVKVSCEASGYLFTTYWMHWV RQAPGQGLEWMGEISPTNGRAYYNARFKSRVTITRDTSINTAYMELSRLRSDDTAVYY CARSFGNYEFAYWGQGTLVTVSSASTKGPSVFPLAPSSKSTSGGTAALGCLVKDYFP EPVTVSWNSGALTSGVHTFPAVLQSSGLYSLSSVVTVPSSSLGTQTYICNVNHKPSNT KVDKKVEPKSCDKTHTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVS HEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYNSTYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKV SNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVEWE SNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQ KSLSLSPGK. The one-letter amino acid sequence that corresponds to SEQ ID NO: 6 is QVQLLQPGAELVKPGASVKLACKASGYLFTTYWMHWLKQRPGQGLEWIGEISPTNGR AYYNARFKSEATLTVDKSSNTAYMQLSSLTSEASAVYYCARSFGNYEFAYWGQGTLV TVSV. The one-letter amino acid sequence that corresponds to SEQ ID NO: 7 is EVQLLESGAEAKKPGASVKLSCKASGYLFTTYWMHWVHQAPGQRLEWMGEISPTNG RAYYNARFKSRVTITVDKSASTAYMELSSLRSEDTAVYYCARSFGNYEFAYWGQGTLV TVSS. The one-letter amino acid sequence that corresponds to SEQ ID NO: 8 is QVQLVQSGAEVKKPGASVKVSCKASGYLFTTYWMHWVRQAPGQRLEWIGEISPTNG RAYYNARFKSRVTITRDTSASTAYMELSSLRSEDTAVYYCARSFGNYEFAYWGQGTLV TVSS. The one-letter amino acid sequence that corresponds to SEQ ID NO: 9 is QVQLVQSGAEVKKPGSSVKVSCKASGYLFTTYWMHWVRQAPGQGLEWMGEISPTN GRAYYNARFKSRVTITADKSTSTAYMELSSLRSEDTAVYYCARSFGNYEFAYWGQGT LVTVSS. The one-letter amino acid sequence that corresponds to SEQ ID NO: 10 is QVQLVQSGAEVKKPGASVKVSCEASGYLFTTYWMHWVRQAPGQGLEWMGEISPIN GRAYYNARFKSRVTITRDTSINTAYMELSRLRSDDTAVYYCARSFGNYEFAYWGQGTL VTVSS. The one-letter amino acid sequence that corresponds to SEQ ID NO: 11 is MVSSAQFLGLLLLCFQGTRCDVVMTQTPLSLPVSLGDQASISCRSRQSLVNSNGNTFL QWYLQKPGQSPKLLIYKVSLRFSGVPDRFSGSGSGTDFTLKISRVEAEDLGLYFCSQS THVPPTFGGGTKLEIKRTVAAPSVFIFPPSDEQLKSGTASWCLLNNFYPREAKVQWKV DNALQSGNSQESVTEQDSKDSTYSLSSTLTLSKADYEKHKVYACEVTHQGLSSPVTKS FNRGEC. The one-letter amino acid sequence that corresponds to SEQ ID NO: 12 is MVSSAQFLGLLLLCFQGTRCDIVMTQTPLSLPVTLGQPASISCRSRQSLVNSNGNTFL QWLQQRPGQPPRLLIYKVSLRFSGVPDRFSGSGAGTDFTLTISRVEAEDVGIYFCSQS THVPPTFGQGTKVEIKRTVAAPSVFIFPPSDEQLKSGTASVVCLLNNFYPREAKVQWK VDNALQSGNSQESVTEQDSKDSTYSLSSTLTLSKADYEKHKVYACEVTHQGLSSPVTK SFNRGEC. The one-letter amino acid sequence that corresponds to SEQ ID NO: 13 is MVSSAQFLGLLLLCFQGTRCDIVMTQTPLSLSVTPGQPASISCRSRQSLVNSNGNTFL QWYLQKPGQSPQLLIYKVSLRFSGVPDRFSGSGSGTDFTLKISRVEPEDVGVYYCSQS THVPPTFGGGTKVEVKRTVAAPSVFIFPPSDEQLKSGTASVVCLLNNFYPREAKVQWK VDNALQSGNSQESVTEQDSKDSTYSLSSTLTLSKADYEKHKVYACEVTHQGLSSPVTK SFNRGEC. The one-letter amino acid sequence that corresponds to SEQ ID NO: 14 is MVSSAQFLGLLLLCFQGTRCDVVMTQSPLSLPVTLGQPASISCRSRQSLVNSNGNTFL QWFQQRPGQSPRRLIYKVSLRFSGVPDRFSGSGSDTDFTLRISRVEAEDVGLYYCSQ STHVPPTFGQGTKLEIKRTVAAPSVFIFPPSDEQLKSGTASVVCLLNNFYPREAKVQWK VDNALQSGNSQESVTEQDSKDSTYSLSSTLTLSKADYEKHKVYACEVTHQGLSSPVTK SFNRGEC. The one-letter amino acid sequence that corresponds to SEQ ID NO: 15 is MVSSAQFLGLLLLCFQGTRCDIVMTQTPLSLSVTPGQPASISCRSRQSLVNSNGNTFL QWLLQKPGQPPQLLIYKVSLRFSGVPNRFSGSGSGTDFTLKISRVEAEDVGLYYCSQS THVPPTFGGGTKVEIKRTVAAPSVFIFPPSDEQLKSGTASVVCLLNNFYPREAKVQWK VDNALQSGNSQESVTEQDSKDSTYSLSSTLTLSKADYEKHKVYACEVTHQGLSSPVTK SFNRGEC. The one-letter amino acid sequence that corresponds to SEQ ID NO: 16 is DVVMTQTPLSLPVSLGDQASISCRSRQSLVNSNGNTFLQVVYLQKPGQSPKWYKVSL RFSGVPDRFSGSGSGTDFTLKISRVEAEDLGLYFCSQSTHVPPTFGGGTKLEIK. The one-letter amino acid sequence that corresponds to SEQ ID NO: 17 is DIVMTQTPLSLPVTLGQPASISCRSRQSLVNSNGNTFLQWLQQRPGQPPRLLIYKVSL RFSGVPDRFSGSGAGTDFTLTISRVEAEDVGIYFCSCISTHVPPTFGQGTKVEIK. The one-letter amino acid sequence that corresponds to SEQ ID NO: 18 is DIVMTQTPLSLSVTPGQPASISCRSRQSLVNSNGNTFLQWYLQKPGQSPQLLIYKVSL RFSGVPDRFSGSGSGTDFTLKISRVEPEDVGVYYCSQSTHVPPTFGGGTKVEVK. The one-letter amino acid sequence that corresponds to SEQ ID NO: 19 is DVVMTQSPLSLPVTLGQPASISCRSRQSLVNSNGNTFLQWFQQRPGQSPRRLIYKVSL RFSGVPDRFSGSGSDTDFTLRISRVEAEDVGLYYCSQSTHVPPTFGQGTKLEIK. The one-letter amino acid sequence that corresponds to SEQ ID NO: 20 is DIVMTQTPLSLSVTPGQPASISCRSRQSLVNSNGNTFLQWLLQKPGQPPQLLIYKVSLR FSGVPNRFSGSGSGTDFTLKISRVEAEDVGLYYCSQSTHVPPTFGGGTKVEIK.

EXAMPLES Example 1: Affinity and Kinetics of a Commercially Available Anti-AGE Antibody

The affinity and kinetics of a commercially available mouse anti-glycation end-product antibody were studied. An anti-AGE antibody raised against carboxymethyl lysine conjugated with keyhole limpet hemocyanin (Clone 318003) was obtained (R&D Systems, Inc., Minneapolis, Minn.; catalog no. MAB3247). Nα,Nα-bis(carboxymethyl)-L-lysine trifluoroacetate salt (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, Mo.) was used as a model substrate for an AGE-modified protein of a cell. Label-free interaction analysis was carried out on a BIACORE™ T200 (GE Healthcare, Pittsburgh, Pa.), using a Series S sensor chip CM5 (GE Healthcare, Pittsburgh, Pa.), with Fc1 set as blank, and Fc2 immobilized with the test antibody (molecular weigh of 150,000 Da). The running buffer was a HBS-EP buffer (10 mM HEPES, 150 mM NaCl, 3 mM EDTA and 0.05% P-20, pH of 7.4), at a temperature of 25° C. Software was BIACORE™ T200 evaluation software, version 2.0. A double reference (Fc2-1 and only buffer injection), was used in the analysis, and the data was fitted to a Langmuir 1:1 binding model.

TABLE 1 Experimental set-up of affinity and kinetics analysis Association and dissociation Flow path Fc1 and Fc2 Flow rate (μl/min.)  30 Association time (s) 300 Dissociation time (s) 300 Sample concentration (μM) 20 - 5 - 1.25 (x2) - 0.3125 - 0.078 - 0

FIG. 1 illustrates a graph of the antibody response versus time. The following values were determined from the analysis: k_(a) (1/Ms)=1.857×10³; k_(d) (1/s)=6.781×10⁻³; K_(D) (M)=3.651×10⁻⁶; R_(max) (RU)=19.52; and Chi²=0.114. Because the Chi² value of the fitting is less than 10% of R_(max), the fit is reliable.

Example 2: Transient Expression of Murine Monoclonal Anti-AGE Antibody

A murine monoclonal anti-AGE antibody was transfected in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells to express and purify sufficient amount of the antibody for evaluation by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) analysis. DNA coding for the amino acid sequence of the antibody was synthesized. The DNA was cloned into the mammalian transient expression plasmid pD2610-v13 (DNA2.0).

Suspension-adapted CHO cells (Thermo Fisher, UK) were cultivated at 2.0-3.0×10⁶ cells/mL at 135 rpm, 8% CO₂, 37° C. in ProCHO-4 serum free medium (Lonza, Belgium) supplemented with 8 mM L-glutamine (Thermo Fisher, UK) and 10 mL/L hypoxanthine/thymidine (Thermo Fisher, UK) in 500 mL vented Erlenmeyer flasks (Corning, Netherlands). Maxipreps of the construct were prepared using a PureLink® HiPure plasmid filter maxiprep kit (Thermo Fisher, UK). Vector DNA was quantified using a NanoDrop Lite spectrophotometer.

500 mL of cells at a final density of 1.0×10⁶ cells/mL were transiently transfected with 1.25 μg/mL of vector DNA and cultured in ProCHO-5 serum free medium (Lonza, Belgium) supplemented with 8 mM L-glutamine (Invitrogen, UK) and 10 mL/L hypoxanthine/thymidine (Invitrogen, UK) in 500 mL vented Erlenmeyer flasks (Corning, Netherlands). Cultures were incubated for 8 days at 37° C., 8% CO₂ and 135 rpm, and routinely fed with 7.5% (v/v) Power Feed A (Sartorius, Germany) every 2-3 days before harvesting by centrifugation at 4000 rpm, 4° C. for 40 minutes. Transfection produced 612 mL of antibody.

Antibody purification was performed using AKTA chromatography equipment (GE Healthcare) at room temperature (19° C.). Following centrifugation, filtered (0.22 μm) cell culture supernatant was applied to an AKTA system fitted with a 1 mL HiTrap Protein A column that was equilibrated with wash buffer. After loading, the column was washed with 20 column volumes of wash buffer. Bound antibody was step-eluted with 10 column volumes of elution buffer. FIG. 2 illustrates the chromatogram of the antibody at 280 nm. All eluted fractions were neutralized with Tris pH 9.0 buffer. Eluted fractions corresponding to elution peak were selected for overnight dialysis into PBS at 4° C.

The purity of the antibody was evaluated using sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The antibody was found to be >95% pure. FIG. 3 illustrates the gel electropherogram of the antibody. Under reducing conditions, both the heavy and the light chains of the antibody were visible and were observed at the expected molecular weights of approximately 50 and 25 kDa, respectively. Under non-reducing conditions, a single major band was observed. The lack of any major additional bands indicated an absence of antibody aggregates.

The purified antibody concentration was evaluated by spectrophotometry. The antibody was quantified with a NanoDrop Lite spectrophotometer using the extinction coefficient 205,500 M⁻1 cm⁻1 (or 1.0 mg/mL=A280 of 1.37 [assuming a MW=150,000 Da]) as the standard reference for IgG at A280, as per the manufacturer instructions. The 600 mL of transfected murine antibody with a concentration of 0.6 mg/mL was purified to 2.3 mL for a total yield of 1.4 mg antibody.

The binding of the transfected antibody was evaluated by ELISA. 100 ng/well of CML-OVA/N^(ε)-(Carboxymethyl) lysine-OVA (Circulex, Japan, cat. no. CY-R2053) was immobilized onto a 96 well MaxiSorp® plate in coating buffer (0.05 M NaHCO₃ brought to pH 9.5 by the addition of 0.05 M Na₂CO₃) at 4° C. overnight. The coating buffer was removed and the plate was washed three times with PBS Tween (PBS-T) (0.1% (v/v) Tween 20). 200 μL per well of 3% (w/v) skim milk in PBS was added to each well and agitated for 2 hours at room temperature. The plate was then washed three times with PBS-T.

The antibody was diluted from 1,000 ng/mL to 0.488 ng/mL in incubation buffer (PBS, 1% (w/v) BSA). 100 μL per well of the diluted antibody was added to the plate in triplicate and agitated for two hours at room temperature.

The wells were washed three times with PBS-T. After washing, 100 μL per well goat anti mouse HRP (Fc specific) (Bio Rad, cat. no. 0300-0108P) diluted to 1:5,000 in incubation buffer was added to all wells and the plate was agitated for one hour at room temperature. The wells were washed three times with PBS-T. After washing, 100 μL of TMB substrate was added to each well and incubated at 37° C. for 10 minutes. 50 μL of 1M HCl was added to each well and the plates were immediately read at 450 nm on a Tecan Sunrise plate reader. FIG. 4 illustrates the ELISA of antibody binding to CML-OVA. The values shown in the graph are the average of triplicate readings.

The ELISA results indicate that the transfected antibody recognizes and binds to CML-OVA protein, a known AGE-modified protein. The results confirm that the antibody sequence is correct and the antibody is active. Similar results would be expected for humanized monoclonal anti-AGE antibodies that include the complementarity determining regions of these murine antibodies.

Example 3: Humanized Antibody Production

A murine anti-AGE antibody was sequenced. The amino acid sequence of the heavy chain is shown in SEQ ID NO: 1 and the amino acid sequence of the light chain is shown in SEQ ID NO: 11. The amino acid sequences of the variable domains of the heavy chain and the light chain are shown in SEQ ID NO: 6 and SEQ ID NO: 16, respectively.

CDR residues of the murine heavy chain were identified using the IMGT and the Kabat numbering systems. The closest human germline gene V-region to the murine heavy chain variable region was determined. Online databases of human IgG sequences were searched for comparison to the murine heavy chain variable domain using BLAST search algorithms, and candidate human variable domains were selected from the top 200 BLAST results. These were reduced to four candidates based on a combination of framework homology, maintaining key framework residues and canonical loop structure.

The CDRs of the murine heavy chain variable domain were grafted into the four acceptor frameworks to produce four humanized heavy chain variable domain variants. The amino acid sequences of the four humanized heavy chain variable domains are shown in SEQ ID NO: 7, SEQ ID NO: 8, SEQ ID NO: 9 and SEQ ID NO: 10. The homology of the humanized heavy chain variable domains was compared to the murine heavy chain variable domain. The results of the homology comparison are shown in Table 2 below:

TABLE 2 Heavy chain variable domain homology Humanized heavy chain Identical Consensus variable domain amino acids amino acids SEQ ID NO: 7 82.2% 87.3% SEQ ID NO: 8 81.4% 89.0% SEQ ID NO: 9 81.4% 90.7% SEQ ID NO: 10 79.7% 88.1%

In order of homology, SEQ ID NO: 7 is the most similar to the murine heavy chain variable domain, followed by SEQ ID NO: 9, SEQ ID NO: 8 and SEQ ID NO: 10.

CDR residues of the murine light chain were identified using the IMGT and the Kabat numbering systems. The closest human germline gene V-region to the murine light chain variable region was determined. Online databases of human IgK sequences were searched for comparison to the murine light chain variable domain using BLAST search algorithms, and candidate human variable domains were selected from the top 200 BLAST results. These were reduced to four candidates based on a combination of framework homology, maintaining key framework residues and canonical loop structure.

The CDRs of the murine light chain variable domain were grafted into the four acceptor frameworks to produce four humanized light chain variable domain variants. The amino acid sequences of the four humanized light chain variable domains are shown in SEQ ID NO: 17, SEQ ID NO: 18, SEQ ID NO: 19 and SEQ ID NO: 20. The homology of the humanized light chain variable domains was compared to the murine heavy chain variable domain. The results of the homology comparison are shown in Table 3 below:

TABLE 3 Light chain variable domain homology Humanized light chain Identical Consensus variable domain amino acids amino acids SEQ ID NO: 17 86.6% 93.8% SEQ ID NO: 18 88.4% 94.6% SEQ ID NO: 19 87.5% 94.6% SEQ ID NO: 20 88.4% 92.9%

In order of homology, SEQ ID NO: 18 is the most similar to the murine light chain variable domain, followed by SEQ ID NO: 20, SEQ ID NO: 19 and SEQ ID NO: 17.

The humanized heavy and light chain variable domain variants were checked to determine whether they had been humanized in accordance with the World Health Organization (WHO) definition of a humanized antibody. The WHO considers an antibody to be humanized if the variable region amino acid sequence is closer to human than to other species. SEQ ID NO: 7, SEQ ID NO: 8, SEQ ID NO: 9, SEQ ID NO: 10, SEQ ID NO: 17, SEQ ID NO: 18, SEQ ID NO: 19 and SEQ ID NO: 20 were assessed using the Immunogenetics Information System® (IMGT®) DomainGapAlign tool (Ehrenmann F. et al., “IMGT/3Dstructure-DB and IMGT/DomainGapAlign: a database and a tool for immunoglobulins or antibodies, T cell receptors, MHC, IgSF and MhcSF”, Nucleic Acids Research, Vol. 38, D301-307). All humanized variable domains were more human than murine. Accordingly, all humanized variable domains satisfy the WHO definition of humanized antibodies.

The heavy and light chain variable domains of the murine antibody and the eight humanized heavy and light chain variant sequences were screened for MHC II binding peptides to determine if the humanization process had removed peptide sequences with high affinity using in silico algorithms. The human heavy chain germline sequences IGHV1-46 and IGHV1-3 and the human light chain germline sequences IGKV2-30 and IGKV2-29 were also analyzed for comparison. The sequences were screened for the following 8 alleles, which represent over 99% of the world's population and are the standard allele set used for prediction of MHC Class II epitopes: DRB1*01:01; DRB1*03:01; DRB1*04:01; DRB1*07:01; DRB1*08:02; DRB1*11:01; DRB1*13:02; DRB1*15:01.

The murine heavy chain variable domain had two high affinity T-cell epitope cores (IC₅₀<50 nM). The human germline sequence IGHV1-46 and SEQ ID NO: 7, SEQ ID NO: 9 and SEQ ID NO: 10 each had one potential T-cell epitope. The human germline sequence IGHV1-3 and SEQ ID NO: 8 each had two potential T-cell epitopes. Since it is unlikely that the human germline sequences would be immunogenic, the potential T-cell epitopes may be an over-prediction of the MHC Class II epitope software. The potential T-cell epitopes are more likely regulatory T-cell epitopes, which would be beneficial to the sequences.

The murine light chain variable domain and SEQ ID NO: 17, SEQ ID NO: 18, SEQ ID NO: 19 and SEQ ID NO: 20 each had two high affinity T-cell epitope cores (IC₅₀<50 nM) and one potential T-cell epitope. The human germline sequence IGKV2-30 had no potential T-cell epitopes. The human germline sequence IGKV2-29 had two potential T-cell epitopes. As in the heavy chain variable sequences, the potential T-cell epitopes may be an over-prediction of the MHC Class II epitope software but are more likely beneficial regulatory T-cell epitopes.

Post-translational modifications of the murine and humanized antibodies were studied. The N-linked glycosylation motif NXS/T, where X is any amino acid except proline, was not present in the any of the variable domains. The sequences were also analyzed for the presence of the amino acid motifs SNG, ENN, LNG and LNN, which can be prone to deamidation of asparagines to aspartic acid. The motif SNG was present in the CDR1 of all of the light chains. Although this motif is potentially immunogenic, no substitutions were made since it only occurred in the CDR.

Murine heavy chain and light chain signal peptides were identified. These signal peptides may result in higher levels of expression in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. The heavy chain signal peptide is included in the murine heavy chain (SEQ ID NO: 1) and the four humanized heavy chains (SEQ ID NO: 2, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 4 and SEQ ID NO: 5). The light chain signal peptide is included in the murine light chain (SEQ ID NO: 11) and the four humanized light chains (SEQ ID NO: 12, SEQ ID NO: 13, SEQ ID NO: 14 and SEQ ID NO: 15).

The structures of the variable domain binding sites were modeled using DNASTAR NovaFold, a protein structure prediction software based on I-Tasser. NovaFold utilizes the I-Tasser algorithms that combine threading and ab initio folding technologies to build accurate, full 3D atomic models of proteins with previously unknown structures. Analysis of the protein structures indicated that the combinations of the heavy chain and light variable domains SEQ ID NO: 7-SEQ ID NO: 17, SEQ ID NO: 7-SEQ ID NO: 18, SEQ ID NO: 8-SEQ ID NO: 20 and SEQ ID NO: 9-SEQ ID NO: 18 appear to have the closest structure to the combination of the murine heavy chain and light chain variable domains SEQ ID NO: 5-SEQ ID NO:16. In general, the humanized variants containing the light chain variable domain having the sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 18 had better structures than those containing other light chain variable domains. Similarly, the humanized variants containing the heavy chain variable domain having the sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 7 had better structures than those containing other heavy chain variable domains.

Example 4 (Prophetic): Future Antibody Studies

Each of the heavy chain variable domains (SEQ ID NO: 7, SEQ ID NO: 8, SEQ ID NO: 9 and SEQ ID NO: 10) is synthesized in-frame with a human IgG1 isotype constant domain sequence. The entire heavy chain sequence is codon optimized (DNA2.0, USA) and the DNA sequence is verified. The amino acid sequence of the IgG1 constant domain (allotype G1m17,1) is shown below:

ASTKGPSVFPLAPSSKSTSGGTAALGCLVKDYFPEPVTVSWNSGALTSGV HTFPAVLQSSGLYSLSSVVTVPSSSLGTQTYICNVNHKPSNTKVDKKVEP KSCDKTHTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVS HEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYNSTYRWSVLTVLHQDWLNGKE YKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTCL VKGFYPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQ QGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPGK

Each of the light chain variable domains (SEQ ID NO: 17, SEQ ID NO: 18, SEQ ID NO: 19 and SEQ ID NO: 20) is synthesized in-frame with a human IgK isotype constant domain sequence. The entire light chain sequence is codon optimized (DNA2.0, USA) and the DNA sequence is verified. The amino acid sequence of the IgK constant domain (allotype Km3) is shown below:

TVAAPSVFIFPPSDEQLKSGTASVVCLLNNFYPREAKVQWKVDNALQSGN SQESVTEQDSKDSTYSLSSTLTLSKADYEKHKVYACEVTHQGLSSPVTKS FNRGEC

Each of the variant chains is verified by DNA sequencing analysis. Next, transient transfection and expression of each of the humanized antibodies is carried out. One chimeric antibody is expressed for use as a positive control and contains the murine variable domains and the human Ig constant domains. Sixteen humanized variants are expressed that contain the humanized heavy chain and light chain variable domains and the human Ig constant domains as shown in Table 4 below:

TABLE 4 Chimeric and humanized antibody variant combinations Chimeric Antibody SEQ ID NO: 6-SEQ ID NO: 16 Humanized Variants SEQ ID NO: 7- SEQ ID NO: 7- SEQ ID NO: 7- SEQ ID NO: 7- SEQ ID NO: 17 SEQ ID NO: 18 SEQ ID NO: 19 SEQ ID NO: 20 SEQ ID NO: 8- SEQ ID NO: 8- SEQ ID NO: 8- SEQ ID NO: 8- SEQ ID NO: 17 SEQ ID NO: 18 SEQ ID NO: 19 SEQ ID NO: 20 SEQ ID NO: 9- SEQ ID NO: 9- SEQ ID NO: 9- SEQ ID NO: 9- SEQ ID NO: 17 SEQ ID NO: 18 SEQ ID NO: 19 SEQ ID NO: 20 SEQ ID NO: 10- SEQ ID NO: 10- SEQ ID NO: 10- SEQ ID NO: 10- SEQ ID NO: 17 SEQ ID NO: 18 SEQ ID NO: 19 SEQ ID NO: 20

Example 5 (Prophetic): Treatment of Sarcopenia

An elderly patient is diagnosed with sarcopenia. She is administered a humanized monoclonal anti-AGE antibody having a heavy chain with 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 2 and a light chain with 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 12. The antibody is administered intravenously at a dose of 5 mg/kg once per week. The antibody specifically targets and kills cells expressing cell-surface advanced glycation end-products, such as senescent cells. The efficacy of treatment is determined by measuring the patient's levels of p16^(INK4a) before and after administration of the antibody. The patient does not develop an immune response to the antibody. The patient's sarcopenia improves as evidenced by an increase in muscle mass.

Example 6 (Prophetic): Treatment of Osteoarthritis

A patient is diagnosed with osteoarthritis. He is administered a composition comprising a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and a humanized monoclonal anti-AGE antibody having a heavy chain variable sequence with 98% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 7 and a light chain variable region with 98% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 18. The antibody is administered orally at a dose of 10 mg/kg once per day. The antibody specifically targets and kills cells expressing cell-surface advanced glycation end-products, such as senescent chondrocytes. The efficacy of treatment is determined by measuring the patient's levels of p16^(INK4a) before and after administration of the composition. The patient does not develop an immune response to the composition containing the antibody. The patient's osteoarthritis improves as evidenced by a decrease in joint pain.

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What is claimed is:
 1. A method of treating pancreatic cancer in a human subject, comprising: administering to the subject a composition comprising a humanized monoclonal advanced glycation end-product antibody, and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, wherein the antibody binds a carboxymethyllysine-modified protein or peptide.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: testing the subject for effectiveness of the administration at treating the pancreatic cancer, followed by repeating the administering of the antibody.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the antibody is substantially non-immunogenic to humans.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the antibody has a rate of dissociation (k_(d)) of at most 6×10⁻³ (sec⁻¹).
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the antibody is conjugated to an agent that causes the destruction of AGE-modified cells.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the agent comprises at least one member selected from the group consisting of toxins, cytotoxic agents, magnetic nanoparticles and magnetic spin-vortex discs.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the composition is in unit dosage form.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the composition is in the form of a solution or suspension, for parenteral administration.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the human subject is pregnant.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the antibody comprises a heavy chain comprising an amino acid sequence having at least 90% sequence identity with at least one amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 2, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 4 and SEQ ID NO: 5, and a light chain comprising an amino acid sequence having at least 90% sequence identity with at least one amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 12, SEQ ID NO: 13, SEQ ID NO: 14 and SEQ ID NO:
 15. 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the antibody comprises, a heavy chain, having a heavy chain variable region, and a light chain, having a light chain variable region, wherein the heavy chain variable region comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 90% sequence identity with at least one amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 7, SEQ ID NO: 8, SEQ ID NO: 9 and SEQ ID NO: 10, and the light chain variable region comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 90% sequence identity with at least one amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 17, SEQ ID NO: 18, SEQ ID NO: 19 and SEQ ID NO:
 20. 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the humanized monoclonal advanced glycation end-product antibody, comprises a heavy chain, and a light chain, wherein the heavy chain comprises an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 2, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 4 and SEQ ID NO: 5, and the light chain comprises an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 12, SEQ ID NO: 13, SEQ ID NO: 14 and SEQ ID NO:
 15. 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the antibody, comprises a heavy chain, having a heavy chain variable region, and a light chain, having a light chain variable region, wherein the heavy chain variable region comprises an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 7, SEQ ID NO: 8, SEQ ID NO: 9 and SEQ ID NO: 10, and the light chain variable region comprises an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 17, SEQ ID NO: 18, SEQ ID NO: 19 and SEQ ID NO:
 20. 14. The method of claim 1, wherein the composition is sterile. 